Twins win rights to Nishioka

The Chiba Lotte Marines announced Friday they had accepted a bid from the Minnesota Twins for the rights to negotiate with infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka.

Nishioka, 26, hit .346 with 206 hits last season – the most by a player in the Japanese league since Ichiro Suzuki in 1994. The switch-hitter scored 121 runs and stole 22 bases.

The Twins have 30 days to agree to a contract with Niskioka or his rights will revert to his Japanese team and the posting fee refunded. The amount of the bid was not revealed, although FoxSports.com reported the winning bid was $5.3 million.

The Mariners and San Francisco Giants, among others, were thought to have interest in Nishioka, although it is not know if any other teams submitted bids.

The only other Japanese player posted this offseason was right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma.

The Oakland Athletics won the right to negotiate with Iwakuma at a reported cost of $19.1 million, but contract negotiations have stalled and Iwakuma may return to the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. Oakland reportedly offered a four-year deal worth $15.25 million.